A nonconductive layer of dielectric material is often deposited between and over an electrically conductive layer of a substrate from which an integrated circuit is formed. The dielectric layer may serve several purposes, including electrically insulating a metal layer from other metal layers, insulating conductive features within a layer from one other, and protecting a metal layer and/or features from physical or chemical damage.
Features of modern integrated circuits are often of very fine pitch and high density. A single, small defect in a material layer forming part of a substrate can be so positioned as to seriously damage the operational integrity of the integrated circuit(s) fabricated from the substrate. In particular, the inventors herein have observed that deleterious interface interactions can arise between a thin film dielectric layer and an adjacent material layer of a substrate, especially where the thickness of the dielectric layer is on the order of tens of angstroms (A) (e.g., 10-50 Å).
Proposed by the inventors herein are systems and methods for reducing the interface interactions, between a thin film dielectric layer and one or more adjacent material layer(s) of a substrate, on the performance and reliability of integrated circuit devices formed from such a substrate.